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Habitability of Other Planets and Satellites pp 253–265Cite as

Extremophiles on Alien Worlds: What Types of Organismic Adaptations are Feasible on Other Planetary Bodies

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Part of the book series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology ((COLE,volume 28))

Abstract

Scholars since ancient times have often wondered how diverse life can be. We know that life is intrinsically linked to its environment and different environments result in different organismic survival strategies. We encounter a wide variety of environments on Earth, and many more on the planets and moons in our Solar System. By looking at the most important and promising of these planetary bodies, namely, Venus, Mars, Europa, and Titan, I like to point out possibilities and avenues for organismic adaptations at these locations, with a particular focus on metabolic strategies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of the Environment, Washington State University, 1148, Webster Hall, Pullman, WA, 99163, USA

    Dirk Schulze-Makuch

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  1. Dirk Schulze-Makuch
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Correspondence to Dirk Schulze-Makuch .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Experimental Planetary Physics, Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany

    Jean-Pierre de Vera

  2. The Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Joseph Seckbach

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Schulze-Makuch, D. (2013). Extremophiles on Alien Worlds: What Types of Organismic Adaptations are Feasible on Other Planetary Bodies. In: de Vera, JP., Seckbach, J. (eds) Habitability of Other Planets and Satellites. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 28. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6546-7_14

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